Doctors generally consider the delusional beliefs of schizophrenia to be just that — delusional — and any attempt to indulge them to be an exercise in reckless collusion that could make matters worse. There is no point, they say, in trying to explain the psychological significance of someone’s belief that the C.I.A. is spying through the TV; it has no basis, other than psychosis.

Milton Greek, who has severe schizophrenia, disagrees. He listened to his illness to find the real meaning hidden within:

“Schizophrenia is the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “I know a lot of people with the diagnosis don’t feel that way, but the experience changed me, for the better. I was so arrogant, so narcissistic, so self-involved, and it humbled me. It gave me a purpose, and that purpose has been very much a part of my recovery...

When I began to see the delusions in the context of things that were happening in my real life, they finally made some sense... And understanding the story of my psychosis helped me see what I needed to stay well.”